Like people trying to run a home based business are not already being probed and hounded by Big Brother enough! It seems that eBay sellers that ’sell a lot’ according to Ohio’s new auction law, are going to feel the blunt end of yet another self-rightous law supposedly designed to ‘regulate’ those that are doing this type of Internet auctioning on more than a casual level.

A new Ohio law that took effect on February 1 will have the unintended consequence of requring residents of that state to get auctioneer licenses and be bonded in order to sell items on eBay. In order to obtain an auctioneer license, Ohioans will need to pay a US$200 license fee and post a US$50,000 bond. Along with the out-of-pocket costs, sellers will have to attend an approved auction school, undergo a one-year apprenticeship to a licensed auctioneer, and pass both oral and written exams.

Is all this really necessary just to list your old PC or other detritus laying around in your basement? Apparently not, according to State Senator Larry Mumper (R-26th District). When he introduced the legislation, it was not his intention for it to apply to all eBay sellers. While promising some changes to the law to exempt “casual sellers,” he said it could still apply to “anyone who sells a lot.”